The Other Path
by IZZY-CHAN13
Summary: MaxBradley AU. Max finds himself down the rabbit hole within the Gamma Fraternity home, coming across a strange, forbidden sight. Using lyrics by Edge of Dawn, this takes place some time after "Back Into The Fray" (Originally published on deviantART in August 2011, with corresponding images..)


**The Other Path**

 _Look, if you're going to keep hanging around me, then I'm going to have to establish some ground rules._

 _What, now we have rules?_

 _Shut up. Okay, Rule #1: Don't get jealous; I don't need another girl, some effeminate whore, clinging onto me-_

 _I'm not a girl. And you're the only one I've been with-_

 _Rule #2: Don't tell anyone about us. My own Gamma brothers don't know about it. It'll ruin both our reputations-_

 _That makes perfect sense._

 _And Rule #3: Do not come over if I haven't invited you._

 _Hm?_

 _You got that?_

 _Huh? Oh, sure..._

 _Curiosity got the best of the poor canine. Having walked down the wrong narrow path where the main hallway split in 2- by himself- he couldn't help but be drawn to the marble checkered floor, the golden candles, the red tapestries._

 _Like a child he stared at awe at the carvings of the heavy wooden slab. A golden eye watched his every move underneath another pair of elegant wings. Max ran a quick finger on the door's shimmering handle before taking a stronghold and pulling it open..._

* * *

"The black and white checkered floor has existed in temples since the times of ancient Egypt. More than simply decorative, the mosaic pavement bears a profound esoteric meaning. Today it is one of Freemasonry's most recognizable symbols and is the ritualistic floor of all Masonic lodges. The pavement is the area on which initiations occur and is 'emblematic of human life, checkered with good and evil.'"

~Source: __Secret Arcana__

* * *

 **Grand Steps**

 _Another path revealed itself, going clear across the other side of the Main Gamma Hall. The dark tinted windows let through a sliver of light. It was sunset once more._

 _Max noticed that the Gamma House expanded far beyond its outer appearance. And what he could percieve as he took a hold of the railing, that it reached underground. The grand steps descended far down to an altar, simple enough, and a wall covered with more tapestries, as if the velvet covering was a bare necessity. A red carpet greeted his walk down, the crystal accents giving an erethral glow. The high-ceiling room was warm, shining gold, reds and violets..._

 _".. wow."_

 **The Tapestry**

 _Known since childhood not to leave a stone unturned, his hands fumbled with the countless decorations and goblets lining the mantle of a huge fireplace. On the altar, he found the one that Bradley drank out of when the boy accidently stumbled into that whorehouse a few days before. The same color of the crystals on the steps glittered close to the rim of that solid gold cup._

 _The smell of an expensive wine and that familiar musk of the man who consumed it..._

 _Max set it down carefully and let his bright orbs take in more of that grand place. He spotted a multitude of doors and peered within every single one of them to see if there was another detour he could take._

 _When it seemed that his quest was finally over, he sighed and leaned against one of the velvet tapestries hanging on the wall, and nearly fell in-_

 _"Whoa! What-?"_

 _He lifted the veil and found another dark path, lined with stone from what his gloved hands could feel._

 _"Cool!" Thinking to himself._

 _He threw the heavy tapestry out of the way so that he could walk into the tunnel..._

 **Hole**

 _ _Atmosphere suddenly went cold.__

 _The stone wall was illuminated with humble lanterns in an orange glow, spaced far apart. So much, that there was a point where Max almost felt engulfed in the darkness before another orb of light reassured him..._

 _He felt that he had walked for almost a song's length, at a normal pace, until he finally reached the end of the path, greeted in his wake by a simple door._

 _Shadows crept closer to the entrance; gloved fingers took a hold of the brass knob. The boy peered up at its knocker-the head of a goat-confused._

 _It certainly had nothing to do with the Gamma "Mu Mu" Fraternity..._

 _No matter. Max Goof went inside._

 **The Chamber**

 _Heat crashed into his being like a wave._

 _It was like trying to breathe in the sauna again. A sudden chill went up and down his spine as he experienced a hot flash through his ebony skin. As he controlled the intake he let his head and eyes adjust to the altitude and the light flooding in from down below..._

 _Small figures paced around some object beyond the ivory pillars, underneath an eagle. A phoenix maybe?_  
 _Strange light radiated from an unknown source. Perhaps there was a fire burning nearby, or the sheer gold shine of the sculpture was enough to illuminate the entire chamber, dipped in red and velvet._

 _Once his vision became clearer and clearer an odd sound reached his ear-_  
 _A mix of pain and pleasure. And then a horrifying scream._

 _Max collapsed on the floor and took a hold on the rung like a man in prison, drinking in everything that he never knew._

 _Like a work of art he had seen before._

* * *

"Since the dawn of civilization, the entrance of sacred and mysterious places have been guarded by two pillars. Whether in art or in architecture, twin pillars are archetypal symbols representing an important gateway or passage towards the unknown. In Freemasonry, the pillars are named Jachin and Boaz and represent one of the Brotherhood's most recognizable symbol(s), prominently featured in Masonic art, documents and buildings."  
~Source: __Secret Arcana__

"Do what thou wilt..."  
~Aleister Crowley

"Make a wish on the __Morning Star__... and close your eyes." ~Back Into The Fray

* * *

 **"Descent"_Edge of Dawn**

 _PYT  
Here's to summer heat  
And sweat  
Skin in mad abundance  
Regret? Reset!  
AYT  
One for you and three for me  
Availability, no responsibility_

 _Pretty, annoying, dead_

 _CYT_  
 _Smoke this trident just for me_  
 _Blatant arrogance_  
 _Fake some innocence_  
 _DYT_  
 _Three on you is good fun for me_  
 _This sorority deserves no mercy_

 _Pretty, annoying, dead_  
 _A provocation and a_  
 _Bad case of ruby red_  
 _Skinny, annoying, dead_  
 _Rise and fall_  
 _Counter violence_  
 _A simple answer to your call_

 _Smell of sunscreen_  
 _Do you mind a bit of cream_  
 _Omega Chi_  
 _Do you really wonder why?_  
 _Smell of sunscreen_  
 _Do you mind a bit of (extra) cream_

 _Back print_  
 _Angel wings_  
 _The flower girl's a saint_  
 _You feed her and she feeds you back_  
 _Attention, tar, and taint_

 _Don't fall for the flower girl_  
 _She knows just what you think_  
 _This fortnight she'll regenerate_  
 _She'll dance and cast her skin_

* * *

 **Break Me**

"No…"

The entire frame shook, trembling. The gloved hand covered upon quivering lips to suppress an immediate scream. Another shriek rang in the heated chamber, hitting the high roof and all around Max's body. Beads of sweat kept on descending to the dark hardwood floor, soaking it all up.

He couldn't fathom what came next. A figure robed in stone blue donning a turban with the horns of a bull stood in front of the helpless creature, bound and chained. A fallen angel. Red hair and bare flesh exposed. The black dog had never seen her before, but the way she belted out her anguish as they beat and raped her snapped his lethargic mind back to his own—

"So, what have we learned?" The man in robes had his back to the onlooker. A hand reached in and pulled out a handle attached to a long strand, "Respect authority?"

The creature sobbed, "What authority?! Da—nngh!" Another crack of the whip.

"You think I'm enjoying this?"

"Damn you! ALL OF YOU!" More shrieks and more blood spilled on the black and white checkered floor.

This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening.

 _ _This isn't happening!__

"Boss!" __What?__ "Don't you think we've done enough?!"

" _ _Shut it!__ " He didn't sound normal. Void of pride—Not a single laugh burst from his larynx. Not a chuckle; just the crazed grunts forcing the sharp animal hide into the ivory skin, shining a ruby red. The similarities were too much. Sandy brown hair clumped to his skull in damp strands when the turban finally fell off—

" _ _NO!__ "

The leader recognized that voice anywhere.

Max Goof bolted to the door for his life.

" _ _Intruder!__ "

Bradley Uppercrust threw the slimed whip to the cohort,

" _ _Finish it!__ " Before he turned around and sprinted up the black metal stairs—

The loud clanks of the platform got closer to the kid. He ran back through the tunnel nearly tripping on the stone—

A hand thrust into the robe and brought out the Gamma communication device—

"Lock the door!"

The other didn't bother to listen. He wrestled with the velvet tapestry and practically jumped up the stairs, advancing 3 steps at a time as far as his legs could stretch—

"Come on!" grabbing a stronghold on the shimmering handle and trying to pull the heavy wooden slab open. It wouldn't budge. The golden eye on the opposite side was all of a sudden mocking—glittering with malice.

"Max—

Pushing the door in. Nothing.

"Max." A hand pressed on his shoulder.

"What, are you doing here? WHAT—

The boy whirled around and nearly smashed the jaw. Even with blood spurting of his mouth, it seemed that Brad didn't feel a thing—"What the hell are you doing here I TRUSTED YOU!"

"LIKE HELL YOU DID!" A black hooded figure peeked from the hidden entrance,

"Boss?" He slammed Max against the stained glass window and shielded him from the other's view—

"Get back in there and finish the goddamned job!" The cohort scuttled back into the cave. Something foul welled up inside the kid's being, driving him to vertigo and hysteria—

"Let go of me—"What the hell are you doing here?" repeating the same question over and over while leading him to the nearest door on the other side of the grand steps. Max kicked and spat, doing everything to squirm away from his supernatural grasp.

" _ _Let go!__ " failing to burn holes into hell-filled eyes. Max couldn't look him in the face, darkened beyond comprehension—a flash of red within the orbs disappeared just as quick when the barrier opened—

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Max's body reeled to the hardwood floor of the storage room. Metal beams leaning against the bare claustrophobic walls clattered violently as the door slammed shut. Thick rolls of linen fell out of the shelves and almost hit the lying weight on the ground with a thunk. He looked up in time to a shattering of glass, a small mirror that swung off the hook of the other side.

The man in stained robes took a hard foot on the boy's stomach to which he yelped in pain before kicking him on the side—"I fuckin' trusted you, Goof."

The same dress shoe dug the neck to the cold surface—

"Brad!" Choking—"Bra-!" Now laying on top on him, the high priest pierced his incisors into Max's shoulder, not to pleasure, but to harm—"Aagh!—

Wrapping a hand around the windpipe while the other took out a foreign object from the hidden pocket, "I could kill you right now." The glint of silver in the moonlight—

"No!"

Jutting away from under the predator and clambering to his sore feet before tripping on a loose piece of cloth into the wall without a door.

"You were not supposed to know about this. Ever—" __For as long as you live.__

The point was inches away from his gut. The dog palpitated, breathing frantic—about to vomit—"Please don't! __Don't!__ "

"Good night, Goof Boy."

Max bought himself time the only way he knew how. He threw a quick punch to Bradley's stomach and began wrestling with the hand carrying the dagger—

Knowing that the possessed jock wouldn't quit, he had to play his trump card.

"You wouldn't—" A rough tongue went up the neck and down to the shoulder blade, the boy pulling the fabric out of the way, letting a trail flow down tan flesh. The mouth kissed where the jugular veins connected, and traveled up with the exposed muscle to Adam's Apple.

When the grip on the weapon loosened, he took his chance to bury it within the other –

The man growled in sudden fury and fought back even as the dagger hit the wood.

Max tasted blood, but not just within Bradley's mouth. Both tore away from each other. He could feel his lip split under the tongue's pressure—

"Brad!" Wrapping himself around the bloodied cloak, "Brad—" whispering as sensual as a child could be, running his palms within the damp keratin, "fuck me."

It was as if, he wanted to wipe away the memory of what he had just witnessed.

"Bradley, fuck me."

The thick brows furrowed together and two calloused hands shook the boy's shoulders violently—

"Are you __insane?!__ " Throwing Max into the metal beams—

"Why would I want you now?! WHY?!"

White hot tears from the rejected soul. The young man began to speak in a language not his own,

"You will stay here until I come back. I'm locking the door."

" _ _Brad! Wait!__ "

"You're not going anywhere."

The wood shocked back in place—Max stumbled to the tiny window filtering in the light of the full moon with a loose beam and broke it open.

He could feel the glass cut into his arms as the projectile flew from his mouth, "uggh… no.." spitting out the excess.

He couldn't cease his flagrant weeping. He fell to the floor and buried his reddened face into gloved hands…

 _ _What have I gotten myself into?!__


End file.
